A toast to things forgotten

Yes, the times might have been tougher for many this past year, but joy can still be found everywhere. Eternally busy with our daily grind, we might miss a lot of it! Hopefully we did not forget to appreciate the joy of having people we care about and who care about us: family, friends, and others. BTW, did any of you see the movie “Up in the air”? Do we take enough time to realize the joy of meeting new people and ideas, of being able to do some of things each of us are passionate about, or just briefly enjoying the giggle of a child, a beautiful sunset, or a good book or glass of wine? Do we take the time to do the simple things in our power to enhance and prolong the joy of others?

As the end of the year approached, I took again my tally… Among my “joy list,” something stood out. I realized I had consistently forgotten to acknowledge an important contributor to my joy during the past decade… my rowing boat! One could argue: “But, it’s an object!” Yes, but it has been a real partner and its true value well surpasses its monetary value, although it is still the most expensive thing I bought for myself (even if not much compared to other possessions people normally acquire in their life times). Also, unlike my house or car, I have been the only user of my single scull!

A few years back I had made the decision to own a boat to further reinforce my commitment to taking the time to stay healthy through rowing. While I have been the raw force behind our rowing sessions, my boat has been our… Zen! At some point I discovered that my work on the water only paid off when I could truly become one with my boat. Rowers will understand this is not merely a metaphor, this is… mechanics! In my eagerness to “row hard,” I used to overdo it:, my movement effectively working against the boat’s effortless gliding. However, once the two of us completely cooperate, I can hear the gurgle of bubbles as we glide together through the water. My boat’s unofficial name is “Champagne”. It’s what came to my mind when I was looking for one word that could simultaneously invoke white, light, bubbles, and last but not least, the giddiness that rowing gave me so many times naturally - something that might otherwise require drinking good champagne! I think my boat fully deserves an ode as it has been a real partner that enabled me to stay physically and mentally healthy so that I could take care of all the people I care about and to do many other things that I am passionate about. So, while it’s currently parked on high dry ground, and spent the holidays alone, outside in the cold, it will be forgotten no more. This one is to you, Champagne!

What/who brings you joy?

Start with the end in sight

What is your system for accomplishing something you do not enjoy doing or simply find really hard to do? Just in case this reminds you somewhat of one of the "7 habits of highly effective people" (begin with the end in mind), this is not a repeat! This is a personal insight about practical ways to achieve that goal in mind, which came, again, from my athletic endeavors. In this case I should rather say my efforts to keep my commitment to stay healthy though daily physical activities.

It’s too cold again to row outside so I am back to the rowing machine (!!) I do not enjoy using the erg (rower's slang for rowing machine), but I do want to stay healthy and in shape. So I promised myself that no matter how much I hated it, I will use the erg for 35 min (yea, all you serious athletes can have a good laugh!) in the morning, several times a week. When I can row outside, on the water, an hour flies by easily, but I have to drag myself to get on the erg… It has helped that I finally developed the capacity to relax my brain while I use it, which in turn allows me to... think, something which came spontaneously when rowing outside. This might be my first erg-inspired post!

So this morning, when I forgot to set the timer to count down from 35 min as usual, after two minutes of trying to achieve my daily goal, I realized I will not be able to do it this way around, i.e., with the timer counting up! The odd discovery that I was able to make myself erg if the timer is shaving off from my goal (I can see the end), but not if I had a seemingly open-ended task ahead of me (psychologically, each move adding to it), set in motion my thinking about the process that allows me to accomplish goals through tasks I do not enjoy.

If I need to do something I do not like, the first effort is getting my brain engaged to make the commitment to the goal, then the brain will drag my body into it. And should the smallest thing come up, my brain tends to immediately find any excuses for which I should quit… On the other hand, when I enjoy doing something, my body does not need my brain to get engaged. My brain only jumps in should something that threatens to require me to quit; only then my brain finds all kinds of reasons (excuses?) for which I should still persist. Thus, I need to set a worthy mental goal and a concrete end for the task needed to achieve it. If the goal has value to me then I will just “suck it up” and go through the motions to accomplish it. I believe some may define it as “keeping the eye on the ball.” As a tactic, translating the goal into a concrete target, i.e., setting the time, distance, or number of repetitions, helps keeping me focused and makes it more manageable – then I can actually enjoy the feeling of “shaving off” my task: I have the end in sight.

The sports-inspired strategy works in life in general and business. First, defining a goal that is meaningful or a clear vision is essential. Then, translating them into tasks that are measurable and keeping count makes it doable. New research http://bit.ly/4sHSM indicates that “grit”, defined as perseverance, may be more important than intelligence or native talent to succeed. Not surprisingly it was found that it was essential to find a goal that can motivate us and sustain our interest long-term to summon up the grit… Where there is a will for an end in sight, there is a way!

Added note: Erg-ing after posting this got me... thinking: "what might I be losing by using this method?" The first thing that came to mind was limiting my goal. Of course, I am used to always exceeding them! What is the possibly I might go beyond 35 min counting up? Slim, I really tried several times. So, instead I started the process of talking myself into setting the timer to 40 min as one of my goals for the new year...
I also included a gadget to the right side - you can set it for your own challenge and see if my countdown tactics works for you!

Putting it all together – the “renaissance” competitor

The other weekend I went to cheer for friends (and secretly figure out if it was something I should consider…) participating in a “mini” triathlon that includes swimming (0.5 mi=750 m), biking (12.4 mi=20 Km), and running (3.1 mi = 5 km). The display of human determination and energy was amazing and inspiring. So many things blew me away that it was hard to rank them, so here are some in no particular order:

• Each of parts taken separately is a challenge in itself to the average person. All these people – and there were a few hundred - had been willing to train for and able to compete in all three of them.
  
• Beyond the energy expenditure needed, the mini-triathlon requires also the willingness to deal with the unpredictable – weather/water conditions - and the predictable discomfort. They not only had to bike and run after swimming, but they also did it in wet wear!
  
• Most people I talked to at the end of the race appeared to be competing against themselves, foremost keeping track of their own progress: some had competed previously, many were planning to train and come back within the next months. While there were enthusiastic cheers for every one crossing the finish line - indeed a major achievement, no prizes or trophies were distributed…
  
• Some of the people did not fit the “image” of the athlete, some appeared to be overweight, some had some sort of clear movement impairment, most were beyond the age associated with physical prowess. I was reminded again how misleading the appearances can be.

Moreover, I could not help but admire not only the technical excellence and endurance, but also the overall preparedness and the ability to think clearly under stress of these athletes. In fact, if I had to pick one thing that was the most amazing to me while watching this challenge – it was the “behind the scenes” competitors’ ability to manage the “transition time”. I understand that the times needed to don the biking gear after getting out of the water, walk the bike to the start line, then shed it all for the running shoes, were all added to the overall time. No doubt a lot of preparation went into having just was needed in terms of different gear pieces. Add to that laying down all these items and then donning or shedding them in the right order, when tired and with the clock ticking, was nothing short of a major tactical system. Way too cool, I just discovered a check list for triathlon transitions ! I’d say the handling of the swift and efficient transition from one challenge to the next under stress is one of the most difficult to find, but probably most useful abilities in the business world these days.

This made me think that the tri-athletes would likely do very well in whatever they put their minds to. No matter how these people appeared at first sight, they all had determination, endurance, versatility, clarity of mind under stressful conditions and used these qualities to constantly challenge their own abilities to get better. I wonder how frequently such transferable skills are taken into account when people are assessed for hiring or assigned professional responsibilities…

Winning a fair competition

Would many of us agree success in business and life in general is not necessarily fair?

Sports might just be one of the last human endeavors that embodies our idea of a fair competition. Of course, this assumes that the use of performance enhancing drugs or dirty tricks is (should be!) strictly prohibited. Ha, have you ever considered what the Hollywood we came to know would look like if the use of drugs and other enhancements money can buy was prohibited?!? Luckily, regular people like me can compete in the world of amateur sports, which by and large offers fair competition. In fact, everyone has the chance to win.

We all train best by visualizing victory. Consider this: some of us, more "mature" competitiors, had already learned that while it is really nice to get an actual prize, it is not really necessary to win the competition to feel like a winner. We win by simply being willing to challenge ourselves to compete. The efforts to maintain or stay in shape, to polish your technique, having the guts to sign up for the competition, and then being able to concentrate and to give it your best, in spite of all else that might happen in our “real life” at that time, are always rewarded. All these traits are essential for competing in life or business. We had already won the challenge against ourselves.

If this is not good enough for some, consider the point a highly competitive rower offered to encourage me to stay in the game: “And yes, you can actually win the trophy one day! Every year, more and more in your age group up will drop out of the competition. If you keep at it for long enough, one day you also will win the first place just by showing up…”

What's in it for me?

Staying physically active can provide much more than what meets the eye... My hope is to motivate myself and others to stick with it in spite of all the competing priorities and all the fresh excuses I am able to come up with on a daily basis. Maybe even inspire others to get started. I learned it is never too late to get started, but no good reason to delay it!

You may be like me, past the age of high stakes athletic competitions, or maybe even more like me, never been there. And if not already engaged in some sort of regular physical exercise, you are likely to immediately think: “I am a very busy person, I do not have time for exercise”. OK, I have news for you, the busier you are, the more you would need to make the time. Even if you would like to make time, you might wonder how could you possibly justify to yourself, to your family, or to your boss taking the time to exercise. Indeed, all could legitimately ask: “what’s in it for me?!?”

I will try to exemplify in my future posting some of the benefits I derive beyond physical fitness and health. Let's quickly mention a few that come to mind:

• Make room for deep breathing and thinking
• Extract valuable life and business lessons
• New opportunities to get to know yourself better and to become a better person
• Create a brand for yourself
• Connect with like-minded people, forge life-long friendships
• Look and feel your best
• Enjoy a fair competition
• Create an opportunity to do something you have always dreamed of
• The best way to spend the midlife crisis or an empty nester surge of extra energy and time
• Inspire others, help them realize a dream

I hope you found something you would consider worthwhile. While you may well relate to these, my own perceptions have been likely shaped by my choice of sport and my own individual situation. Yep, just in case you were wondering, I am a gal. I would like to believe the verdict of a personality test I took a few years back was accurate. After having answered many of those twisted, forced, multiple choice questions, this stated that I was a “sporty girl”. I was relieved, actually pleased, it sounds even better for someone of a “certain age” like myself.
So, I am counting on getting help with additional perspectives from those of you, guys and gals, who have already enjoyed the benefits of regularly engaging in some kind of athletic endeavor, in spite (or should I say rather to support) an already very active life. You might be doing yoga or lifting weights, cycling, running or playing team sports or golf...

What’s in it for you?